Thank you for stopping by my blog. I am on a journey of self discovery.
This includes, faith, family, health, wellness, essential oils and more. If you like something, share it, if you have a comment, post it, if you don't like something - sorry.
Check out my website www.wholehealth.vibrantscents.com
or my husband's and my business page www.totaldisplays.com
Blessings, Peace Abundance to all
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Thursday, August 28, 2014

It seems like I have always been a what you see is what you get kind of girl. Although I do remember in college wearing far too much eye makeup but that is another story.

Now that I think back - I remember the ribbed turtlenecks in Junior High (yes it was Junior High when I was a kid, not middle school). The girls wore so much makeup on their faces that their turtleneck tops were orange. Actually so were their faces. I always thought that was disgusting so I never did that in Junior High. Maybe that is why none of the boys liked me. Or maybe it was because I was 5' 11" by 7th grade. No matter. Back to more important things.

I keep reading on a daily basis about all the cancer causing chemicals that are in all the products we use on a daily basis. Here is what www.lesstoxicguide.ca has to say about face powders.

"Face Powder

Mainstream powder products commonly contain talc or silica. Both talc and silica can be easily inhaled and cause respiratory problems when they are airborne. As well, face powders are frequently coloured with potentially toxic coal tar dyes, such as D&C Red 30 Lake and D&C Yellow Aluminum Lake. Other toxic ingredients in face powders include quaternium-15 and imidazolidinyl urea, two preservatives that can release carcinogenic formaldehyde, butylated hydroxy toluene (BHT), a preservative and fragrance masking ingredient which can cause allergic reactions, and lanolin, a skin irritant. Synthetic fragrances, which are added to many popular brands, can also cause contact dermatitis. Endocrine-disrupting parabens are common as preservatives in face powders, and, in a few products, triclosan, another hormone disrupting chemical, is added for its antibacterial properties."We read all the time about the items and chemicals to avoid. Here is a great info graphic.

I am not a scientist. I am just someone looking for more natural alternatives to some of our daily use products. What I found was it was very difficult to even find a list of ingredients on makeup provider's web sites!

So, what is a girl to do? WEAR FOOD!

Some of the recommended, "healthier" products ranged from $20 - $37.

For pennies, seriously pennies, I make my own face powder now. Here is another huge advantage, skin color/tone changes from summer to winter, change the color by adding more ingredients! This was the only way that I could do this and be certain of the content!

It is nourishing, it is light and actually feels silky on my skin.INGREDIENTS

Here are some suggestions on spices to use for certain colors. Play around to get the best color for you. This is MUCH BETTER than having to buy multiple shades of store bought skin powder when they don't match! Just keep adding until you get the blend you like.You can really use almost any spice you have on hand. Personally as I am putting it on my face, I purchased new bulk spices from Lakewinds CoOp. I would avoid cinnamon because it can be irritating to skin. Here are some common oils with colors to choose. Hint: You can use a coffee grinder to make your own powders from dried herbs!

Clove - darker brown with some reds

Cocoa Powder - medium to dark brown

Ginger - yellow tones

Nutmeg - medium to light brown

Sage - green tones

Here are some other suggestions on oils to use. Seriously, use what you have. I would avoid any citrus oils as they cause photo sensitivity.

Oils Good for Oily Skin and Acne (Source: Quick Reference Guide for Using Essential Oils - by Connie and Alan Higley)

Friday, August 15, 2014

You may have read my post about how we got started with Young Living essential oils. For a brief synopsis, we were looking for alternatives to Ibuprofen for my daughter. We were very uncomfortable with the side affects of Ibuprofen. We were introduced to the oils and thought for the minimal investment it was certainly worth the effort to jump in and give them a try.

They sounded too good to be true with all the testimonials I had been reading. I WAS VERY SKEPTICAL. Although I have to say my daughter was even more skeptical than me.

What I have found is that they continue to amaze and surprise me when they work on the next thing we try them on!

I am going to go a little different direction than so many of the blogs I see out there. I want to focus on the positive and tell you why I chose Young Living and more importantly why I stay with Young Living!

When we started looking at essential oils I had NO loyalty to any particular brand. I am not going to tell you what is bad about other brands. I am not even going to name them. Honestly I have no experience with other oils so I can't speak ill of them can I? You may know who some of them are, but please, this is simply my opinion.

Here is what was important to me.

TIME ON THE MARKET

As of July 2014 Young Living has been in business for 20 years! That is a long time. That means a ton of research, knowledge and product information is coming my way. They have refined their business processes and know what they are doing. Young Living's largest competitor was founded in 2008.

There are MANY, MANY, MANY smaller oil companies out there. I don't know about all of them but I know the majority have not been in business for 20 years. Personally I was very wary of start ups. I was wary of companies that are offering "free" startup kits. That, as a business owner, sounds pretty risky to me.

Singles: 69 (this was hard to verify because they listed many oils twice in their product listings)
Blends: 10

Another Popular Brand Claiming 100% pure essential oils

Singles: 77 (again very misleading. If you count them all there were 96. Many oils had 2 listings one for regular oils and one for organic)
Blends: 43

These numbers may not be exact but you get the picture. Young Living has a number of kits that have oils that are not available individually at this time so they aren't included in my counts.

What this equated to, for me, is that everyone else will always be playing catch up with Young Living. EVEN if they do produce a good quality oil the depth and breadth of their product line will most likely never compare.

Young Living is not just oils. It includes things like personal care products, beauty products, supplements, cleaning products and more. All are CHEMICAL free and good for you! You can visit my website to learn more about all the products available.

This is a real hot button in the industry. Everyone says their oils are the "only" pure oils out there. I am not even going to make that claim. I have no way of knowing that. What I know, is I personally trust Young Living and here is why.

Young Living has a Seed to Seal Promise. This is not marketing hype, this is not a made up certification. This is a quality process that they have put into place for every single oil.

They currently have 7 farms and have just added an 8th in Canada. They control the entire growth process. Is this true for every single oil? No of course not, but a large portion of the oils are grown on Young Living owned farms. If they are partner farms Young Living is deeply involved in the growth process.

TESTING

Young Living is the only essential oil company that I know that has their own testing facility. They test every batch of oils themselves internally. If oils do not meet their rigorous testing standards, they are rejected and not released to their customers and members.

IMITATION

When you compare other company's blends to Young Living you will see the ingredient list is very close. Usually there is only 1 oil that is different. For example they might use orange instead of lemon.

If you trust a brand why would you want to buy an imitator? Especially a cheap imitator?

When it comes to my families' health, I want the original.

RESULTS

The bottom line is every time we have used the oils for something, they have worked. If that had not been the case, I would have tried something else. These oils never cease to amaze me! I trust the quality of the Young Living oils. I don't trust oils that are really cheap. If there was a way to make the oils that much less expensive don't you think our largest competitor would be priced far under us?

I like to say now, that I continue to be Skeptically Optimistic. I am always skeptical and hopeful at the same time. I am a glass half full kind of girl. But I have not been disappointed yet!

Do your own homework and if I can help, I am here.

Curious about the oils? Check out my Facebook event next week. RSVP on Facebook and learn about the oils from your smart phone, tablet or computer. Can't make it? RSVP anyway and come back to review the content when you want! "See" you there.

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Ok - let's just put it out there. I love animals. Actually I love almost any animal! Good thing for my family we live in the city or we would have horses, chickens, goats and more.

Here is one problem that I have. I am a complete sucker for rescue animals. As a result we have 3 dogs and 1 cat. Two of the dogs are rescue dogs and the cat is also a rescue. We don't go to pet adoptions anymore. When we got Murphy, my husband dropped me off at the door. When he walked in I was cuddling this little bundle of fur. He knew it was all over - that dog was ours! I just cannot look into those deep brown eyes and leave them there. Lucy was our latest addition to the zoo. I held her and just could not leave her behind.

Lucy's Adoption

Murphy - The Old Man

This is Murphy - he is the old man and a rescue dog. German Shepherd and Norwegian Elkhound mix.
Murphy doesn't like being in his kennel and his legs are starting to get tired. Sometimes I think he doesn't like to go down the stairs to go to the bathroom. So, yes, you guessed it, he goes in the house.

There is one spot in the house that seems to be a favorite. Maybe it isn't him. Maybe it is one of these 3?

Lucy, Tigger & Zeke

We have tried everything, commercial carpet cleaners, store bought and many other things. When it got warm this summer the room was unbearable. We tried many "natural" solutions and NOTHING WORKED. Until we stumbled on this combination:

RECIPE

I used a spray bottle with a funnel to avoid spilling. I am good at spilling things